The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (31 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For tuna salad that is evenly textured, moist, and well seasoned every time, we used high-quality solid white water-packed tuna. For best texture, we broke down the chunks of tuna with our fingers and seasoned the tuna before adding mayonnaise. Celery, red onion, pickles, garlic, and parsley are musts for classic tuna salad. Other flavor combinations like balsamic vinegar and grapes or lime and horseradish offer lively interpretations of the sandwich classic.

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS, ENOUGH FOR 4 SANDWICHES

Drain tuna in colander and shred with fingers until no clumps remain and texture is fine and even. Transfer tuna to medium bowl and mix in lemon juice, ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon salt, ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon pepper, celery, onion, pickles, garlic, and parsley until evenly blended. Fold in mayonnaise and mustard until tuna is evenly moistened. (Tuna salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Omit lemon juice, pickles, garlic, and parsley and add 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 6 ounces halved red seedless grapes (1 cup), ¹⁄
₄
cup lightly toasted slivered almonds, and 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme to tuna along with salt and pepper.

Omit pickles, garlic, and parsley and add 1 firm apple, cut into ¹⁄
₄
-inch dice (1 cup), ¹⁄
₄
cup currants, and 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil to tuna along with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix 1 tablespoon curry powder into mayonnaise before folding into tuna.

Omit lemon juice, pickles, and garlic and add ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon grated lime zest and 2 tablespoons lime juice and 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish to tuna along with salt and pepper.

Omit pickles, garlic, and parsley and add 4 ounces cauliflower florets cut into ¹⁄
₂
-inch pieces (1 cup), 1 minced jalapeño chile, 2 minced scallions, and 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro to tuna along with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Great shrimp salad should possess firm and tender shrimp and a perfect deli-style dressing that complements, but does not mask, the flavor of the shrimp or drown out the other ingredients. We started by cooking the shrimp in cold court bouillon, then heated the shrimp and liquid to just a near simmer. We kept the traditional mayonnaise in our shrimp salad recipe, but limited the amount to ¹⁄
₄
cup per pound of shrimp. We prefer milder minced shallot over onion and minced celery for its subtle flavor and crunch.

SERVES 4

This recipe can also be prepared with large shrimp (31 to 40 per pound); the cooking time will be 1 to 2 minutes less. The shrimp can be cooked up to 24 hours in advance, but hold off on dressing the salad until ready to serve. The recipe can be easily doubled; cook the shrimp in a 7-quart Dutch oven and increase the cooking time to 12 to 14 minutes. Serve the salad over greens or on buttered and grilled buns.

1.
Combine shrimp, ¹⁄
₄
cup lemon juice, reserved lemon halves, parsley sprigs, tarragon sprigs, whole peppercorns, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt with 2 cups cold water in medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook shrimp, stirring several times, until pink, firm to touch, and centers are no longer translucent, 8 to 10 minutes (water should be just bubbling around edge of pan and register 165 degrees). Remove pan from heat, cover, and let shrimp sit in broth for 2 minutes.

2.
Meanwhile, fill medium bowl with ice water. Drain shrimp into colander, discard lemon halves, herbs, and spices. Immediately transfer shrimp to ice water to stop cooking and chill thoroughly, about 3 minutes. Remove shrimp from ice water and pat dry with paper towels.

3.
Whisk together mayonnaise, shallot, celery, remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, minced parsley, and minced tarragon in medium bowl. Cut shrimp in half lengthwise and then cut each half into thirds; add shrimp to mayonnaise mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. (Shrimp salad can be refrigerated overnight.)

Omit tarragon sprigs from cooking liquid. Replace celery, minced parsley, and minced tarragon with ¹⁄
₃
cup thinly sliced jarred roasted red peppers, 2 teaspoons rinsed capers, and 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil.

Omit tarragon sprigs from cooking liquid. Replace celery, minced parsley, and minced tarragon with 4 halved and thinly sliced radishes; 1 large orange, peeled and cut into ¹⁄
₂
-inch pieces; ¹⁄
₂
avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into ¹⁄
₂
-inch pieces; and 2 teaspoons minced fresh mint.

Substitute lime juice (3 to 4 limes; save spent halves) for lemon juice and omit tarragon sprigs from cooking liquid. Replace celery, minced parsley, and minced tarragon with ¹⁄
₂
cup cooked corn kernels, 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, and 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro.

Omit tarragon sprigs from cooking liquid. Replace shallot, minced parsley, and minced tarragon with 2 thinly sliced scallions, 2 tablespoons chopped pickled ginger, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, and 2 teaspoons wasabi powder.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For creamy, flavorful egg salad with perfectly cooked eggs and just the right amount of crunch, we followed a few simple steps. First, we relied on our recipe for
FOOLPROOF HARD-COOKED EGGS
, which yielded eggs with perfectly creamy yolks, tender whites, and no green ring. We diced the eggs to keep the salad from turning pasty. Then we combined them with mayonnaise (our tasters dismissed ingredients such as cottage cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese as extraneous), lemon juice, mustard, red onion, celery, and parsley.

MAKES
2¹⁄
₂
CUPS, ENOUGH FOR 4 SANDWICHES

Be sure to use red onion; yellow onion is too harsh.

Mix all ingredients together in medium bowl, including pepper to taste. Serve. (Egg salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 1 day.)

Substitute 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill for parsley, 1 thinly sliced scallion for red onion, and add 3 minced radishes.

Substitute 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro for parsley and add 1¹⁄
₂
teaspoons curry powder. Omit salt.

Add 1 minced small garlic clove, 2 tablespoons chopped capers, and 1 minced anchovy fillet. Omit salt.

In 10-inch skillet over medium heat, cook 4 slices bacon, cut into ¹⁄
₄
-inch pieces, until brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer bacon with slotted spoon to paper towel–lined plate; pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from pan. Add 2 large shallots, chopped medium, and sauté until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. Omit celery and salt, substitute sautéed shallots for red onion, and add the bacon and ¹⁄
₄
cup watercress leaves, chopped coarse.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Many recipes for homemade chicken stock simmer a whole chicken in water; we found that cutting the chicken parts into small pieces released the chicken flavor in a shorter amount of time since more surface area of the meat is exposed. This also exposed more bone marrow, key for both flavor and a thicker consistency. After testing a variety of vegetables, we found only onion was crucial. Sweating the chicken pieces for 20 minutes before adding the water further sped along the release of flavor, keeping our cooking time short. Make sure to use 6-quart or larger stockpot or Dutch oven for this recipe.